DENVER -- With their 7-2 win over the Rockies at Coors Field on Sunday to complete a sweep of Colorado, the Guardians look dangerous.
Sure, they’ve got one of the lightest-hitting lineups in the Majors and are 65-66 after winning four in a row. But they’ve got pitching, their bats have awakened this month, and their remaining opponents this regular season combine for the second-lowest win percentage of any club’s remaining opponents (.463 entering Sunday).
Cleveland is also in a vastly better position in the standings now than it was on this date a year ago. With Sunday’s win, the Guards kept pace in both the American League Central standings (they’re 3 1/2 games behind the White Sox) and the AL Wild Card race (same record as the Rangers, who currently occupy the third Wild Card spot, though Texas owns the tiebreaker).
On this date in 2025, the Guardians found themselves 12 1/2 games behind the division-leading Tigers before pulling off one of the most improbable late-season surges in MLB history to win the AL Central on the final day of the regular season.
For the third straight game, a different hero stepped up for the Guards on Sunday. After Travis Bazzana delivered four hits and drove in three runs on Friday and Jo Adell launched a three-run homer in a two-hit performance on Saturday, Chase DeLauter took the lead in the series finale.
The 24-year-old rookie, who was briefly sidelined earlier in the week with left hamstring tightness, was Cleveland’s designated hitter and reached base four times with a single, two triples, a walk and two RBIs. Much like the Guardians’ lineup overall, DeLauter has been hot at the plate in August, reaching base in 16 of 17 games and batting .348 (23-for-66).
Adell’s bat also remained hot -- he added a single, double and two RBIs. RBI singles from Angel Martínez and Nathaniel Lowe, and a Brayan Rocchio sacrifice fly, accounted for the rest of Cleveland’s scoring as the Guards outscored Colorado in the series 20-6.
Left-hander Foster Griffin made his fourth start for the Guardians since being acquired before the Trade Deadline. He labored, particularly in a 47-pitch second inning, but limited the damage to two runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out four over five innings.